Two Palestinian girls stand in front of a mosque destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on 8 October, 2023. Photo: SAID KHATIB / AFP
A "significant number" of Israeli civilians and soldiers are being held hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The conflict was spreading, with fire from Lebanon into northern Israel, which the armed group Hezbollah said it carried out "in solidarity" with the Palestinian people.
As dawn broke in Israel, a series of strikes were being launched in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins spoke about the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza, saying there was "no justification" for the Hamas attacks.
The New Zealand government has called for the immediate cessation of violence, with hundreds of people killed in Israel and Gaza after the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched its biggest attack in years.
A plume of smoke rises above buildings in Gaza City on October 7, 2023 during an Israeli air strike that hit the Palestine Tower building. Photo: MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
More than 250 people have been killed in Israel, with more than 230 people in Gaza killed in retaliatory strikes.
People inspect the ruins of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Gaza City on 8 October 2023. Photo: AFP
Hipkins said 87 New Zealanders are registered as being in Israel. One is in Palestinian territory.
A recap of the developments: